No abstract

Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb Part of the Comparative Literature Commons, and the Critical and Cultural Studies Commons Dedicated to the dissemination of scholarly and professional information, Purdue University Press selects, develops, and distributes quality resources in several key subject areas for which its parent university is famous, including business, technology, health, veterinary medicine, and other selected disciplines in the humanities and sciences.CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, the peer-reviewed, full-text, and open-access learned journal in the humanities and social sciences, publishes new scholarship following tenets of the discipline of comparative literature and the field of cultural studies designated as "comparative cultural studies

Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy is hard to diagnose and treat. The patient harms a defenseless person who is in his care, usually a baby or a child, in order to receive the attention the parent requires. Such a parent makes his child ill, introduces his body to various dangers, and with much concern and sacrifice brings him in for medical treatment, accompanying it all patiently, lovingly and anxiously. All the while, the caregiver is making sure to sabotage the healing and cause further harm. This syndrome is a challenge to family physicians, internists and pediatricians, since only the continuity of care of these families may reveal the dangerous syndrome and prevent its harmful outcomes. In this case report, Sarah, the loving mother of Joy, continuously damages her daughter's health and exposes her to the dangers of sophisticated medical interventions. Only careful inspection by the medical teams, dialogue and co-operation can bring to an end the harmful behavior of Joy's mother.

No abstract

This story is a reflection on the evolving relationship of a family physician with a patient suffering from a severe conversion disorder, expressed inter alia through "blindness." The narrative follows our journey as I attempt to unravel the meaning of the symptoms as a metaphoric expression of her agony. Eventually, I conclude that clinicians at times also may have a "blind spot" that prevents us from entirely grasping patients' complex inner struggles.